Railway-tie



(No Model.)

J. H. WILLIAMS.

RAILWAY TIE. No. 309,428. 4 Patented Dec.'16, 1884.

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JOHN H. IVILLIAMS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

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SPECIFICATION" fort-ring part of Letters Patent No. 309,428, datedDecember 16, 1884:. Application filed October 27, 1883. (No model.)

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. Winners, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Railroadlies, of which the following is a description andspecification.

The object of my invention is to provide a durable and cheap tie uponwhich to lay and secure the track-rails of a railway; and I aecomplishthis by the mechanism substantially as hereinafter described, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is aperspective view of the tie-iron or metal portion of the tie. Fig. II isa perspective view of one of the wood blocks which are fitted andsecured one in each end portion of the tie-iron or trough. Fig. III is aplan view of the lower side of the wood block. Fig. IV is a plan view ofthe tie, showing the wood blocks secured in the tie-iron or trough; andFig. V is an end view of two of the ties laid as in the manner of layingand securing the ties on a road-bed, and showing the trackrail as laidupon the wood blocks.

In the drawings, 2 represents the metal portion of the tie, which, forconvenience of de scription, I denominate the tie-iron, and which may bemade of suitable boiler-iron or other iron of proper thickness to insurethe requisite strength, and rolled or bentinto the form of atrough,having any desired number of holes, as 9, in the bottom to permitthe water to flow out, and whose vertical sides are perforated, as at 3,to receive the bolts 8. A wood block, 4, is fitted into each end portionof the tie iron 2, the upper surface of each block being a sufficientdistance above the upper edges of the tie-iron-say one or two inches-tokeep the rail always above said upper edges of the iron. I make agroove, 5, extending longitudinallyin the bottom of the wood block, sothat the water which might collect in the iron beneath the block mayflow out freely, and these blocks 4, being placed one in each endportion ofthe iron, are firmly secured by the bolts 8, inserted throughholes in the block, and also through the holes 3 in the iron. Thesetie-irons,which may be formed in the proper shape by rolling, or in anyother convenient manner, are laid in the road-bed of a railway much asthe ordinary wooden ties are now placed in position, (the wood blocks 4being secured therein either before or after the irons 2 are placed inposition,) and with the upper surfaces of the blocks above the upperedges of the iron, as shown clearly in Fig. V, and the ordinarytrack-rails, 12, are then laid upon the wood blocks and secured inposition by the common spikes, 14, driven by the sides of each rail intothe wood blocks, as shown in Fig. V. If desired, these tie-irons 2 maybe treated with or have a coating of asphaltum, or have any otherdesired substance applied thereto to prevent rust, and when laid willlast a long time, and a supply of wood blocks may be kept on hand, sothat as fast as any become unfit for further use by reason of wear ordecay those maybe easily and quickly removed by drawing the spikes,removing the bolts 8, and inserting a new block in place of each oneremoved and replacing the bolts, and all without in the least disturbingthe tie-iron 2.

The difficulty of obtaining the large wooden ties with which to make theordinary and nec essary repairs upon railways is becoming more and moreserious from year to year, and my in vention removes in great part thisdifficulty, because it only becomes necessary to use for each tie acomparatively small piece of wood beneath and for a short distance eachside of each rail, and of sufficient size to support the rail and toreceive the spikes; and it is believed that the wood blocks 4 will lastmuch longer than the ordinary wooden ties, as they are protected fromthe destructive action of the dampness of the earth by the bottom andtwo vertical sides of the iron, the latter feature also giving a greatdegree of strength to the tie when complete.

It is obvious a single block running the length of the channel-iron maybesubstituted for the two.

I am aware that a railwaytie composed of a channel-iron and a block orblocks of wood secured therein is not new, broadly, such having beenpatented before, and therefore I desire to have it understood that myinvention is limited to the specific features of construction set forthin the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. Animproved railwaytie consisting of,

the channel-iron 2, and a wooden block, 4, secured in each end thereofby transverse bolts passing through both sides of the iron and throughthe blocks, 'and the said blocks of 5 such thickness as to extend abovethe edges of the iron, substantially'as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An improved railway-tie consisting of a channel-iron, 2, and a blockor blocks of wood 10 secured therein by transverse bolts, the said blockor blocks being provided with a longitudinal channel in the under side,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. An improved railway-tie consisting of a channel-iron, 2, providedwith one or more I 5 holes, 9, in the bottom, and a block or blocks ofwood secured therein by transverse bolts, the said block or blocks beingprovided with a longitudinal channel in the under side, substantially asand for the purposes described,

J OHL H. WVILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE E. Bmnons, JAMES D. H'ENTHORN.

